Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Seven days later, Alex came back from his business trip on time. He’d gotten much darker, and his mental state looked terrible.

As time went on, he grew even more haggard.

I pretended to be concerned and asked, “Have you been working too hard? Maybe you should take a few days off to rest.”

He hung his head, as if he didn’t want me to see the huge dark circles under his eyes. “It’s nothing. I’m doing this for our family—it’s worth the effort.”

He stood up and gave me a hug.

I immediately made an excuse about going to cook dinner and pulled away from his embrace.

A few days earlier, Emily had posted a photo of herself with a cut wrist on her Moments, along with a caption about unrequited love. That night, Alex had rushed out to “work overtime.”

Then he told me he had to go on a business trip—probably to comfort Emily.

Thinking about this didn’t stir up any strong emotions in me, but that didn’t mean I was going to let them off the hook.

Alex went to the bathroom, and I returned to the bedroom. I unlocked my phone’s private mode and opened the chat history between me and Alex’s boss.

It was filled with dozens of files—photos and videos of Alex and Emily being affectionate.

I’d told his boss that if he didn’t handle this matter properly, I would leak everything to the trending topics on social media.

As expected, businessmen prioritize profits. Fearing that this scandal would hurt his business, he weighed the pros and cons and decided to fire Emily—who was already not a valuable employee anyway.

Meanwhile, Michael had also told me that he’d deliberately pressured Emily to get a marriage certificate with him.

Soon after, Alex’s phone in the bathroom rang. I quietly walked over to listen. Sure enough, I heard Emily’s voice.

“It’s all my fault for not being able to control myself. I’ll go talk to the boss and tell him to fire me. This has nothing to do with you—it’s me who’s been pestering you. I’ll do anything as long as it doesn’t affect you.”

What a two-faced liar—she was really something.

The more she acted like she was sacrificing herself for Alex, the more guilty he would feel. He’d want to make it up to her, and that guilt would torment him endlessly.

That was exactly what I wanted.

When he came out of the bathroom, his brows were furrowed, and his eyes looked complicated.

He was about to speak when I cut him off.

“You really do look exhausted these days. If work isn’t too busy, why don’t you take a few days off to go home and see your parents? They’ve been missing us.”

He didn’t answer directly. Instead, he looked at me with those so-called “loving” eyes.

I laughed to myself. You’re good at putting on an act, but your parents are even better.

To my face, they’d call me “family” and address me as “daughter,” but behind my back, they were scheming to keep their money to themselves, hoping I’d bring more dowry—and ideally, transfer the house I owned to Alex’s name.

I’d once thought Alex was like a lotus flower growing out of mud—pure and untouched. But now I saw he was just as dirty as the mud itself.

That’s why, once I snapped out of my infatuation, I was determined to get revenge on him.

Alex didn’t give me an answer right away. It wasn’t until the next day that he spoke up.

“Honey, let’s go home. I asked the company for leave.”

“Let’s go to your parents’ place first,” I said, pretending to be considerate.

This trip was a last-minute decision, so we hadn’t told his parents we were coming.

When we got out of the car, his mother looked like she was about to cry when she saw Alex.

“Oh, my son! You’ve lost so much weight! Is Xiao Liu not taking good care of you?”

She shot me a dirty look and spoke in a sarcastic tone.

“You work so hard to earn money, and she just stays at home doing nothing—she can’t even take care of you properly! Look at how you’ve been worn down!”

I pretended not to catch the sarcasm, greeted her politely with a “Auntie,” and walked inside.

It was already past noon, and when his mother heard we hadn’t eaten, she cooked two more dishes—making sure to place all the meat dishes right in front of Alex.

Alex and his mother chatted nonstop, barely touching their food.

I guessed he wanted to talk to his parents without me listening in, so I finished my meal at a normal pace, pushed my bowl away, and left the table first.

Their house was small—just a one-bedroom apartment. I took the bedroom for myself, leaving them no choice but to talk in the living room.

As soon as I lay down, I heard someone trying to open the bedroom door. I pretended to be asleep, and the door was gently closed again.

The next second, I heard his mother’s voice, lowered to a whisper.

“Why haven’t you gotten her to transfer the house to you yet? Just because her family has a little money, they think they’re better than everyone else? She eats and sleeps all day, and you’re the one supporting her—but she can’t even take care of you!”

His father was more cautious.

“Shh! Keep your voice down.”

Heh.

After a moment of silence, Alex spoke up.

“I want a divorce.”

The room fell silent again.

After a while, his mother’s sharp voice cut through the quiet.

“You fool! Even if she’s upset you, you have to think about that house of hers! If we don’t get our hands on that house, your dad and I will be stuck living in this tiny place forever!”

His father clearly thought more long-term.

“Xiao Liu’s dad is about to get another promotion. If you want to keep moving up in your career later, you’ll still need his help. Besides, we’ve already spent money on the wedding, and we’ve told all the relatives. No matter how unhappy you are, you have to keep it to yourself.”

Alex didn’t respond. His father kept talking.

“I tried to stop you from going down this path in the first place. What’s gotten into you now?”

Alex was already at his breaking point from Emily’s constant pressure, and now his parents were pushing him too. He suddenly snapped.

“I don’t love her,” he said, his voice strained. “I love someone else.”

When I heard those words, I didn’t feel sad at all. Instead, I felt a sense of relief—as if I was finally going to be free.

Soon, I wouldn’t have to keep putting on this act anymore.

The living room fell silent once again.

After a long time, his father spoke up again. “I don’t care who you’re in love with—just don’t let Xiao Liu find out. You two are already legally married now. If you want a divorce, you won’t get a single thing you want. She might even blackmail you.”

His mother kept rambling. “Is the girl you’re in love with from a good family? Is her family richer or more powerful than Xiao Liu’s? Even if they are, you have to hold on a little longer—we haven’t collected the wedding gifts yet!”

I could barely hold back my laughter. It really was a case of “shamelessness running in the family.”

I lay there for hours, listening to their scheming.

During that time, Alex came in several times to check if I was awake.

In the evening, Alex suddenly came in and said, “Honey, a few of my buddies and I haven’t hung out in ages. It’s David Miller’s birthday, so I’m going to meet up with them. We’ll go to your parents’ place tomorrow.”

Then he left, leaving me to put on a show of “harmonious family ties” with his parents.

His friends were our high school classmates. David Miller—his full name was David Miller—was his closest “partner in crime.”

Later, when I could tell Alex’s parents were also struggling to keep up the act, I told them I was going back to my own place.

My house wasn’t far from theirs, so I could walk.

When I got home, I finally got a good night’s sleep and didn’t bother checking Alex’s messages.

I woke up again at two o’clock in the morning. I saw that David had posted something on his Moments—a video.

From the video, it looked like they were in a KTV. There were four men and one woman—and that woman was Emily Davis. She was singing a love song with Alex.

I was about to save the video when I got a notification that the post had been deleted.

Soon after, Alex sent me a message.

“Are you asleep?”

“Hmm.”

“How long have you been asleep?”

“Four or five hours, I think. I just woke up when I heard your message. How’s it going over there?”

He must have felt relieved when he heard my reply, because his tone became much lighter.

“We already had dinner, and I’ve even taken a shower. You go back to sleep.”

I’d planned to go back to sleep, but I suddenly felt wide awake—and an urge to go check out our new wedding house.

I thought for a moment, then sent him a message first.

“I’m not feeling well.”

He didn’t reply after a while, so I set off for the new house.